An on-line method of cleaning contaminants from at least one interior surface in plasma chambers comprises blasting one or more interior surfaces of a plasma chamber with dry ice to remove contaminants from the one or more surfaces.
Legal claims defining the scope of protection, as filed with the USPTO.
1. An on-line method of cleaning contaminants from at least one interior chamber surface in plasma chambers, the method comprising: opening a plasma chamber at an on-line site; and blasting one or more interior surfaces of the plasma chamber with dry ice, wherein: the blasting removes contaminants from the one or more surfaces; and the cleaning is carried out at the on-line site in which the plasma chamber is regularly operated.
2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the contaminants comprise polymer deposits.
3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the contaminants comprise carbon and fluorine based polymer deposits.
4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the one or more surfaces are selected from the group consisting of stainless steel, ceramic, anodized aluminum, and combinations thereof.
5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the one or more surfaces are selected from the group consisting of an anodized aluminum sidewall of the plasma chamber, an anodized aluminum surface of an electrostatic chuck, a ceramic surface of an electrostatic chuck, and combinations thereof.
6. The method of claim 1 , further comprising removing contaminants cleaned from the one or more surfaces using a vacuum hose and/or a cleanroom exhaust.
7. The method of claim 1 , further comprising wiping the interior surfaces of the plasma chamber with isopropyl alcohol subsequent to the blasting.
8. The method of claim 1 , further comprising wiping the interior surfaces of the plasma chamber with ultra pure water subsequent to the blasting.
9. The method of claim 1 , wherein the blasting is carried out using a blasting system comprising a dry ice source, clean dry air source, dry ice blast hose connected to the dry ice source, clean dry air hose connected to the clean dry air source, and dry ice blast applicator and nozzle connected to the dry ice blast hose and the clean dry ice hose.
10. The method of claim 9 , wherein an operator holding the nozzle manually directs dry ice from the blasting system to blast the one or more surfaces.
11. The method of claim 9 , wherein the blasting comprises an operator moving the nozzle to direct dry ice onto the one or more surfaces at a rate of about 2-15 inch. 2 /min.
12. The method of claim 9 , wherein the blasting comprises an operator moving the nozzle to direct dry ice onto the one or more surfaces at a rate of about 2-5 inch. 2 /min.
13. The method of claim 9 , wherein operating conditions of the blasting system include: Clean Dry Air pressure of about 25-125 psi; and Clean Dry Air flow rate of about 12-100 CFM.
14. The method of claim 9 , wherein operating conditions of the blasting system include: dry ice blasting rate of about 0.3-1.0 lbs/min.; Clean Dry Air inlet diameter of about 0.5-1.0 inch; and a nozzle having a blast swath of about 0.125-1 inch.
15. The method of claim 14 , wherein operating conditions of the blasting system include: dry ice blasting rate of about 0.5 lbs/min. Clean Dry Air inlet diameter of about 0.5 inch; and a nozzle having a blast swath of about 0.5 inch.
16. The method of claim 7 , wherein the cleaning is carried out using only isopropyl alcohol.
17. The method of claim 10 , further comprising supplying dry ice from the dry ice source, wherein dry ice is shaved from a block of dry ice.
18. The method of claim 1 , wherein the plasma chamber comprises a plasma etch chamber.
19. The method of claim 1 , wherein the plasma chamber comprises a chamber selected from the group consisting of a metal etch chamber, a poly etch chamber, a dielectric etch chamber, and a photoresist stripping chamber.
20. The method of claim 1 , wherein the cleaning is carried out in a cleanroom.
Cooperative Patent Classification codes for this invention. Click any code to explore related patents in that topic.
March 30, 2007
October 23, 2012
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